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After I did the Windows 10 Anniversary update 1607 (Dutch, so no Cortana), my search bar in start menu stopped working.

When I click the start menu and start typing something, it either closes immediately or it freezes and stops the whole explorer.exe. If I manage to get some text in the search box it does not search, but closes again.

I tried chkdsk C: /f and sfc /scannow but it didn't find any problems. However I haven't tried to boot in safe mode yet to see if it works, but I wonder if someone knows the problem and potentially has a fix for it.

Update 1: I tried it in safe mode, but also there it does not work. Same behavior. I open it and it closes immediately.

(IT'S BACK TO FORCE CLOSING) Update 2: I tried the powershell commands provided by the link @Dave posted. My search bar isn't force closing now, but when I type the screen is blank. Image of the current status: search with the command "search" but blank results.

NOTE: 'search' is the term I typed in to try.

Update 3: Event viewer logs error:

Naam van toepassing met fout: SearchUI.exe, versie: 10.0.14393.351, tijdstempel: 0x5801a548 Naam van module met fout: SearchUI.exe, versie: 10.0.14393.351, tijdstempel: 0x5801a548 Uitzonderingscode: 0x80000003 Foutmarge: 0x00000000001f688f Id van proces met fout: 0x1d9c Starttijd van toepassing met fout: 0x01d23461791f2ca6 Pad naar toepassing met fout: C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe Pad naar module met fout: C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\SearchUI.exe Rapport-id: 9145fff4-6be1-4ed2-8ab4-a9c8d1ccb850 Volledige pakketnaam met fout: Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_1.7.0.14393_neutral_neutral_cw5n1h2txyewy Relatieve toepassings-id van pakket met fout: CortanaUI

I say Reinstate Monica
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Kees Sonnema
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  • @Dave It didn't find any problems or corrupt files. So I lost it there. I will try safe mode when I'm home, but I thought maybe someone know's a problem right away. I could update the post when I tried. – Kees Sonnema Oct 31 '16 at 08:41
  • @Dave I tried safe mode. Still the same. Search does not work at all. – Kees Sonnema Oct 31 '16 at 16:34
  • @Dave Updated the op – Kees Sonnema Oct 31 '16 at 20:11
  • Is there anything in event viewer. Did you try to rebuild the index. Does the issue occur when you click start menu and press windows key on your keyboard? – Dave Oct 31 '16 at 21:36
  • @Dave Nothing in event viewer, I tried to rebuild my index, same problem. Also start menu works when clicking or with windows key. But as soon as I start typing, or click the search icon, it stops and 'soft-restarts' the explorer – Kees Sonnema Nov 01 '16 at 08:00
  • I will try event viewer one more time when I'm home tonight. – Kees Sonnema Nov 01 '16 at 08:04
  • Try http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-win_cortana/cant-type-in-windows-10-search-bar/7dce8411-8671-4d3e-90d1-b9bdc0aa4734 – Dave Nov 01 '16 at 10:46
  • @Dave This is the error I'm getting: http://hastebin.com/okoretusip.bash (Translate from Dutch :) ) – Kees Sonnema Nov 01 '16 at 16:26
  • @Dave Added event log errors – Kees Sonnema Nov 01 '16 at 17:03
  • I think this is a problem with Cortana. Try to [Turn off Cortana completely](http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-tip-turn-off-cortana-completely/) and reboot to check. – harrymc Nov 03 '16 at 16:43
  • capture a crash dumnp and I'll look at it and send the dmp to Microsoft: http://pastebin.com/zKuJvw57 – magicandre1981 Nov 04 '16 at 05:22
  • @harrymc I don't have Cortana as I'm from the Netherlands. It's in the question above. – Kees Sonnema Nov 04 '16 at 09:27
  • @magicandre1981 I will do this as soon as I'm home. Thank you in advance. – Kees Sonnema Nov 04 '16 at 09:28
  • Sorry for the above, but to be sure - do you see Cortana running in the Task Manager? Things to try : (1) Control Panel / Indexing Options / Advanced, run "Troubleshoot Search and Indexing" and you may also try Rebuild, (2) Disable anti-virus if 3rd-party, (3) Verify that the Windows Search service is running, (4) Test if the problem arrives on a [new user account](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/instantanswers/5de907f1-f8ba-4fd9-a89d-efd23fee918c/create-a-local-user-account-in-windows-10). Reboot if you change anything. – harrymc Nov 04 '16 at 09:48
  • Tried all the above, and I don't have Cortana, so it's not running in taskmanager. – Kees Sonnema Nov 04 '16 at 11:01
  • have you captured the dump? – magicandre1981 Nov 05 '16 at 08:15
  • I will do that now @magicandre1981 – Kees Sonnema Nov 05 '16 at 13:54
  • @magicandre1981 I've uploaded it too zippyshare: http://www26.zippyshare.com/v/TpoaWC04/file.html – Kees Sonnema Nov 05 '16 at 14:51
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    ok, I've submitted the dmp to Microsoft. I hope I get a reply in the next days. – magicandre1981 Nov 06 '16 at 06:37

2 Answers2

4

I'm not sure if Cortana is installed your system or not. But I'm certainly sure that Cortana is a MAIN part of Windows Search, and in SOME of Windows 10 editions Cortana is Disabled by default. Meaning it's installed on the system, but its functionality is DISABLED. If something happened to Cortana files, then the WHOLE search system will be affected as well. Same thing happens in reverse.

So, what you actually need to do, is to reinstall Cortana from the Local Machine and not from the current user. The link that @Dave gave you is a one step but it will give an error (AS you experienced). Anyhow, I will give you the steps that I did in order to solve this issue.

  1. Go to Services and disable + Stop Windows Search. (Then Save your settings).
  2. Go to Powershell (Right-Click and open as administrator).
  3. Type Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted then hit enter.
  4. Next, Type Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
  5. Now, go back to Services and re-enable Windows Search, Change Startup to (Automatically Delayed Start) and click on Start.
  6. Restart your system.

If you still experience problems, (press windows key + R) then type wsreset.exe, and follow the wizard. This should reset Windows Store cache (Yes, Windows Store affects all Windows built-in apps including Start menu functionality).

Method 2:

Open the command prompt as administrator, then Type:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth

then hit enter.

Wait until it's finished then type: 

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

then hit enter. Wait until it's finished.

After it's done, go to Services and check Windows Search service, it should be Started / Automatic (Delayed Start)

Restart your system and check.

Method 3 (Best Answer):

After the file is downloaded, Uncompress it then run Repair_Windows.exe as administrator to avoid any permission issues. Then follow the following steps:

From Tweaking.com's Repair Tool window do the following:

  • Go to Repairs tab
  • Click on Open Repairs
  • Untick first option (parent option) to untick all its options.
  • Now, tick the following options:
    • 27 Set Windows Services To Default Startup
    • 28.02 Repair Windows 8/10 App Store (Completely Reset App Store)
  • Then, click Start Repairs, and the tool will do the rest of the work.

When it's done, make sure to restart your machine.

iSR5
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  • I will try this first and if this does not work I will update windows 10 to itself as @harrymc said – Kees Sonnema Nov 04 '16 at 20:48
  • I've got an error when executing `Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted` http://hastebin.com/ohujowuven.sql – Kees Sonnema Nov 04 '16 at 20:59
  • @KeesSonnema this is not an error, it's a success confirmation of the command execution. – iSR5 Nov 05 '16 at 00:12
  • Well the command didn't work. It said "a new package is already installed" and then it failed. – Kees Sonnema Nov 07 '16 at 09:24
  • @KeesSonnema the error shows that your apps are already up-to-date. You should go ahead and do the wsreset.exe step – iSR5 Nov 08 '16 at 06:18
  • Strange, because I tried that already. The problem seems to be cortana (searchUI) is either broken or missing. So the update fails when doing the powershell command. – Kees Sonnema Nov 08 '16 at 08:32
  • @KeesSonnema indeed it's somehow corrupted. I have updated the post with Method 2, check if it will help – iSR5 Nov 08 '16 at 12:58
  • I tried this method already 10 times. It just does it's thing and finishes, but no changes to searchUI. Still broken. – Kees Sonnema Nov 08 '16 at 20:02
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    @KeesSonnema best option I see is to try creating a new account, and check if it has the same issue. If not, try to use Tweaking.com's Windows Repair tools (download the portable version) over this link: http://www.tweaking.com/content/page/windows_repair_all_in_one.html – iSR5 Nov 08 '16 at 21:55
  • I will try it as soon as I'm home! – Kees Sonnema Nov 09 '16 at 08:32
  • The Tweaking.com tool worked! The search is now working flawlessly and Microsoft Edge is also working again. I consider your answer as the best. – Kees Sonnema Nov 09 '16 at 17:29
  • @KeesSonnema glad that solved your problem. I'll update the answer in case someone came across it. – iSR5 Nov 09 '16 at 18:18
  • @KeesSonnema Specifically what step in Tweaking.com's tool worked for you? Was it the same tool found at the site now? – user5389726598465 Apr 13 '17 at 02:22
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    @iSR5 if you update your question to specify what steps specifically you took to solve the problem I will award you a 150 reputation bounty. – Ramhound Apr 13 '17 at 22:58
  • @user135711 I've added the Tweaking.com's tool steps. – iSR5 Apr 18 '17 at 19:34
  • @Ramhound I think you meant Kees Sonnema, but I've added the steps anyway. – iSR5 Apr 18 '17 at 19:36
  • @iSR5 - You are the author of the answer. I can't award, KeesSonnema a bounty, if it's your answer. The issue of your answer being clear came up because of user135711's comment – Ramhound Apr 18 '17 at 21:08
  • @Ramhound it's not a big deal, glad to help ;) – iSR5 Apr 18 '17 at 23:06
  • I'm having the exact same issue after the most recent update and none of the steps have helped. – Battlefury Dec 21 '17 at 17:30
0

If you have tried the troubleshooting then change the Search settings in Windows 10 to enable search

Change Search Index Settings in Windows 10

  • Press the window key + R button to open run command

  • Type the command %LocalAppData%\Packages\windows.immersivecontrolpanel_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState

    Press Enter or click OK

  • A new window will open with Indexed folder
  • Right click on the indexed folder and select properties
  • Click on Advanced button in the dialog box open
  • Checkmark the option ‘Allow files in this folder to have contents indexed in addition of file properties’
  • Click OK and then Apply
  • The progress bar will appear completing the indexing
  • Click on OK when the indexing is completed

Now restart the device and search items, Window OS will show related items.

Run5k
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